


Teachers are stupid

by Silverwing013



Series: Contrary [1]
Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-08
Updated: 2021-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-14 07:00:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 1,608
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29913156
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Silverwing013/pseuds/Silverwing013
Summary: Contrary to what their students believed, the teachers of Casper High School were not stupid.
Relationships: Danny Fenton & Mr. Lancer
Series: Contrary [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2199681
Comments: 11
Kudos: 66





	1. Data

Sneaking back into the school building as Phantom, Danny grabbed the forgotten textbook out of Tucker's locker and grinned after he flew by the teacher's staff room. Zipping in, he hastily went invisible as he realized the teachers were still there on a Friday night. An old belief flickered through Danny's head jokily. Teachers really don't have a life outside of the classroom. Although, Mr. Lancer looked just as bored as Danny felt during history class, writing in the sides of his notebook instead of listening to the discussion of school promoted scholarships for the seniors. He silently chuckled at the image of his teacher as an inattentive young student, daydreaming and doodling.

The young half ghost then paled upon seeing the outlined points of the staff meeting up on the board. Curiosity killed the cat, not Danny, well at least not fully, so the boy stayed in the staff meeting a bit longer. When the next outlined point was reached, his eyes felt sharper and he straightened into full attention no class could ever manage anymore. Mr. Lancer stifled a yawn and the current student recognized what his teacher was doing as he casually drifted his hand over what he had been writing. When the up to date percentage was stated, Danny blinked in surprise.

He hadn't realized his excuse of using the restroom when bailing from a classroom to 'go ghost' was quite so high.


	2. One

Danny made it a thing to keep poking his head into the weekly teacher meetings. He found out there were statistics on Tucker and Sam as well, but they were typically ignored due to how low their percentages of missing in action during a ghost attack were. Danny supposed it made sense; they had to cover for his own disappearances. He was just glad they seemed to be ignored. Valerie made the list with him too after a few weeks of being the Red Huntress. To his surprise, he found Mr. Lancer had the most statistics on him and those involved in that red notebook of his, however, he contributed the least to the rest of the teachers. It was a jolt to him when he figured that part out after several months of his weekly visits.

Oddly enough, he also found Mr. Lancer was the only teacher who still allowed him to use the restroom excuse. He'd had to come up with various other excuses for everyone else, but had yet to change his excuse for Mr. Lancer. Sam noticed several weeks after him. She brought it up to him and he brushed it off, continuing to use the restroom excuse. Sam told Tucker, which caused some concern, but they tried hiding it from him since Danny shrugged it off and just went with it. Danny felt a bit more trusting of his bald teacher for some odd reason. He knew he was being monitored the closest by the older man, but it filled his chest up with something significant when week after week Mr. Lancer did not speak up on any of his extra statistics to the other teachers.

In a weird way, he felt like Mr. Lancer had his back. But was also fully aware Mr. Lancer would totally call him out on it if it all went to hell.


	3. Routine

Danny began thanking the harried teacher. Sure, Sam and Tucker may have looked at him funny, but he shrugged it off. He continued thanking Mr. Lancer at the end of a crazy class, crazy of the Fenton/Phantom variety, for allowing him to use the restroom and for the good class lesson. Mr. Lancer would raise his eyebrow at him, make a crack at ghosts destroying his lesson plans and remind Danny of the homework.

It was awesome.

Danny always missed the homework in the entire hullabaloo. And while his friends met him at the end of such a class, sprinting more like, they didn't share this classroom in the second semester. Hullaballo aside, class continued, unless the fight entered. With his concern on keeping everyone safe, most fights at school were led outside. He knew fights were noticed, the teacher meeting he continued secretly attending told him that, but he wasn't entirely sure how the teachers kept the students focused on class. There was a fight and not just a normal one, a ghostly one. How did the teachers do it? It wasn't exactly a mystery Danny would solve seeing how he couldn't be in two places at once. Yet.

But, because of Mr. Lancer, Danny finally had a class he never missed the homework assignments for and he loved it. After the loss of normalcy and faced with nearly failing his classes time and time again, being able to have all his assignments for at least one was amazing. It really wasn't something he could really describe to his friends when they asked, but they began putting more effort into getting all of his assignments if at all possible. Danny knew that was annoying; he had long forgone dashing about to bother all of his teachers every single day. Most were feed up. They told him to pay attention and give effort rather than telling him the assignments. Thus, grades were not what they used to be and he refused to face his dreams of being an astronaut disappearing little by little with every Phantom appearance.

Mr. Lancer became someone he chit chatted with nearly every day. Danny found himself liking the man, even if he favored sport jocks too much at times. Conversations with this teacher compared to every other adult were normal and filled up with a dry humor that got him smiling.

But every now and then, Mr. Lancer would furrow his eyebrows down in concern, asking if he was okay. The young half ghost would pull back and assure the man he was. Sometimes Danny found himself admitting he was just a bit sore or he just had a bruise when the look did not disappear. Those weren't things he admitted to Sam and Tucker later. But he took caution and the first chance to leave the conversation.

When signing up for classes for the following school year, Danny went for a couple more that he knew Mr. Lancer taught, even though they were of the English variety more than Math and Science that he needed for being an astronaut, which he still signed up for. He never thought he'd go for additional English classes when he started at Casper High School.

His gut clenched at the last teacher meeting. The teachers of the extra Math and Science classes Danny had signed up for were horror struck. The balding teacher had then dryly told them they only needed to state assignments again before Danny left for his next class, stating the young Mr. Fenton would be fine if they did that. Then Mr. Lancer shook his head, sighing, repeating again how Danny would be fine.

And Danny, who had loved the feel of normal in knowing his assignments and passing Mr. Lancer's classes, suddenly felt the sting of disappointment laced in the teacher's voice and wished the helpful tip to his future teachers was never spoken.


	4. Ambition

The young half ghost spent more than a few times that summer bothered by how Mr. Lancer's words were spoken. But when the teacher greeted him first class of Sophomore year, there was a confidence in his voice of how this year would be better and an optimism Danny found catching. Hope refilled him and he strove to put his best foot forward, then keeping it there. He would earn his good grades this year. He became and gotten used to being Phantom last year, of course grades suffered. He could do it this year.

The hope didn't last and Danny finally understood as he saw the light leave Mr. Lancer's eyes and a frustration take over them both in his grades slowly slipping. They were decent grades. Nothing was wrong with them. They were fine. But Danny could be better than fine.

So much for his goal of schoolwork he was proud of for this school year. Any claim of remaining the least bit normal slowly left Danny. Normal had left a long time ago for a Fenton, especially him. A few assignments began being late every now and again in several classes, then finally, the first late assignment turned into Mr. Lancer.

When he finally found the nerve to apologize to Mr. Lancer about not being able to do better, Danny was a firsthand witness to the teacher being struck silent. Then, the man admitted something Danny was sure hurt the teacher to admit. That he didn't know how else to help Danny succeed academically and help him reach his goal of someday becoming an astronaut.

Mr. Lancer said how much he looked forward to having him as a student after Jazz told him how smart and driven her little brother was to reach his goal. The older man had paused and then Danny was struck completely dumb. Mr. Lancer checked the hallway and leaned close, stating he was worried if he should be concerned if Danny's goals had changed.

Scared and paranoid, fearing what the teacher was suggesting, Danny managed to shake his head in the negative before racing off. He didn't discuss it with Tucker and Sam, they still didn't know about the teacher meetings. But, in his panic, he did yell at his older sister for telling Mr. Lancer stuff about him. Which then she said something thoroughly embarrassing about him being her little brother and she was proud of him.


End file.
